The women’s tennis team fell into a bit of a slump this weekend, as the Cardinals suffered a tough loss against Little Three rival Amherst on Saturday afternoon in Amherst, Mass., and then lost to the Bates Bobcats at home on Sunday morning.
It was a beautiful Saturday afternoon, but it was an ugly day for the Cards. Wesleyan had a rough start in the doubles rounds, as Amherst took all three points. Anika Fischer ’10 and Sarah Miller ’12 teamed up for the number one spot, but could not take down the Lord Jeffs, and lost 2-8. The number two pairing, Genevieve Aniello ’13 and Linda McDougal ’11, suffered a similar fate, and also fell 2-8 to the Jeffs. The number three doubles team, Casey Simchik ’10 and Taylor Morales ’13, had a disappointing match as well; they were defeated 0-8.
Wesleyan put up a strong fight in the singles rounds, but was unable to come away with any wins. The number one player, Fischer, fell 1-6, 2-6, while the number two player, Miller, also fell 1-6, 1-6. Playing at number three, Aniello battled through each game, but was ultimately defeated 2-6, 3-6. The number four singles player, Meredith Holmes ’10, had a challenging match and was taken down 0-6, 0-6. At the number five spot, McDougal played an impressive match, but came away with a 4-6, 3-6 loss. Simchik closed out the singles rounds at the number six spot with a 3-6, 3-6 loss.
The Lord Jeffs ultimately prevailed 9-0 on their home courts, seizing their 28th consecutive win against Wesleyan.
After a disappointing loss on Saturday, the Cards moved on to compete against the Bates Bobcats on Sunday morning. Due to the rainy weather, the matches were moved to the inside courts in the Bacon Field House. The Cards pulled out everything they had, but it was not enough to bring down the Bobcats.
The Cards went into the doubles rounds with strength and intensity, but were only able to pull out a win for one match. To start things off, the number one power pair, Fischer and Miller, battled it out with the Bobcats, but ultimately suffered a tough 2-8 loss. The number two duo, Aniello and McDougal, played an intense match and came away with an exciting 8-6 win. The number three doubles team, Simchik and Morales, also played a solid match, but were unable to come out on top and finished with a 6-8 defeat.
In the singles rounds, the number one player, Fischer, battled back and forth for three sets. After losing her first set 2-6, Fischer came back and won her second set 7-5, but unfortunately lost the third 4-6. Miller came up big with a 6-0, 6-0 victory at the number two spot, while Aniello also earned a 6-0, 6-0 win at the number three spot. The number four player, Holmes, played a hard-fought match as she lost her first set 3-6, won the second set 6-4, and then was defeated 2-6 in the third. McDougal played another fierce match at the number five spot, losing her first set 4-6 and then coming back 6-2 in the second. McDougal battled to the end, ultimately earning a 10-6 in the pro-set tiebreaker. The number six player, Simchik, concluded the singles rounds for the Cards with a difficult 3-6, 3-6 loss.
The squad will look to rebound from its disappointing weekend on Thursday, when the Cardinals host Trinity on the Vine Street Courts at 3:30 p.m.